Stars Tony Jaa, RZA, JeeJa Yanin, Marrese Crump, Petchtai Wongkamiao Directed by Prachya Pinkaew In a case of ‘How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?” Kham (Tony Jaa) goes on another rampage in search of his kidnapped elephant, which is pretty much what happened in the first movie (known as The Protector in some Western markets). By the time the plot is underway, you do wonder why the bad guys couldn’t just get any other elephant, because Kham’s exploits from almost five years ago seem to be well known. Ah, but therein lies the reason for picking on his elephant, organised by the mysterious LC (RZA, yes, The Man With The Iron Fists himself), which happens to be two-fold. But then, plot is not a big point for this kind of movie. If you’ve heard of the first movie, and you know the work of Tony Jaa and his directorial collaborator, Prachya Pinkaew, then you know just what to expect- which is a ton of intense action scenes. This time, in 3D, but that’s best avoided. Even in 2D, there are obvious set-ups that are meant to utilise the 3D effect, and they do not look good. In the midst of the action, we cut away to either have a foot or a punch or some debris just come at the screen, and it’s an obvious 3D effect for the sake of having that effect. It does nothing to serve the action except to interrupt the flow. And the action, as you’d expect, is intense with some amazing choreography, stunts and full contact hits. Sure, you might be a little confused when the first major action set-piece kicks in, wondering who are all these dudes on motorcycles fighting our hero over the rooftops (and it goes on a while), but just go with it. We need some very disposable goons for the bad guy to throw at our hero, after all. While there is no stand-out sequence like the 4-plus minute single take rampage from the first movie, the fights here are fiercer, more brutal at times, with Jaa and JeeJa Yanin (Chocolate, Raging Phoenix) teaming for the first time on screen, antagonistically at first until they find their common enemy. The slim story and plot is just meant to string one action set-piece to the next. the rooftop sequence early in the film is a major set-piece with some truly crazy stunts. There are even fights that involve electricity (courtesy of an electrified subway rail and wet shoes- ignore logic, just go with it) and fire. You can’t even really comment on the acting. Jaa basically has two expressions- edgy and explosive- going on, although the BTS reels during the credits would show that they are having a bit of fun with the few ‘acting’ moments. Yanin barely has any lines at all. But again, you’re in it for the action scenes. This is the kind of movie that Hong Kong cinema (primarily led by Jackie Chan) used to do during the 80s to mid 90s at best, but don’t anymore, save for the occasional Donnie Yen flick. The Thais, under the Baa-Ram-Ewe Productions banner (movie fans know which movie they got their company name from), have been taken the action cinema baton and really run with it lately.
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